French culinary legend Jacques Pépin has solved one of home cooking’s most persistent frustrations: how to peel hard-boiled eggs without losing half the white. His brilliantly simple technique requires nothing more than a common pin and takes just seconds, but makes all the difference in the world. The secret lies in creating a tiny hole at the egg’s wider end before boiling, which allows trapped air to escape during cooking.
This isn’t some complicated chef’s trick requiring special tools – anyone can do it with items already in their home. Just take a regular pin or thumbtack, make a small puncture in the rounded end of the egg, then boil as usual. The results will amaze you. Instead of wrestling with stubborn shell fragments, you’ll find the peel sliding off in satisfying, continuous pieces. It’s the kind of kitchen wisdom that transforms everyday cooking from frustrating to effortless.
Whether you’re meal prepping for the week, making egg salad, or preparing deviled eggs for a special occasion, this method guarantees picture-perfect results. The best part? It works equally well whether you’re cooking one egg or a dozen. Once you try Pépin’s technique, you’ll never go back to the old way of peeling eggs again. It’s that much of a game-changer for home cooks at any skill level.
